Las Meninas was created by Diego Velázquez during the Baroque period. He was the Philip IV of Spain's artist. In this piece he depicts la infanta, who is the King's daughter. The piece is an example of a Baroque piece. The Baroque conventions typically included a moment in time, drama (often used with different lighting effects, or tenebrism) it's on a stage, and exaggeration. We see drama and a moment in time with this piece. The infanta is in the center and is highlighted with a greater amount of light because she is the most important figure. We see that she is being attended by her servants who were little people (they made her feel more comfortable because of their size). What is different about this piece is that Velázquez includes himself in the painting with. Furthermore, we have multiple realties in this piece, la infanta is in the center, in the very back we have a mirror in which we can see the King and Queen, and on the back of the viewer's right we see the nuns running.
This piece is one of my favorite for the Baroque period primarily because of the multiple realities. Furthermore, there is not as much drama depicted like in Caravaggio's pieces. The tenebrism (drama with light or expression) isn't as evident. I also like the fact that although Spain during this period was more religious but isn't directly shown within the piece except for the nun. Lastly, I enjoy observing this piece because I learned about the Spanish monarchy, and I first came across the technical term for the King's daughter, la infanta.
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